Eligibility and Registration

The Board of Regional Trustees of the Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B. (Francophone School Authority of British Columbia) has adopted a new policy D-400-2 pertaining to admission of students into its schools on may 2013.

As is the case for all policies of the Conseil scolaire francophone, this amendment to the admission policy was preceded by several weeks of consultation with CSF stakeholders and an information campaign during which many members of the community and a number of Conseil scolaire francophone representatives had the opportunity to express their opinions on the proposed changes in a public forum.

The policy, adopted on April 20, fully maintains the unalienable right, under the provisions of Article 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, of francophone parents to be eligible to have their children educated in the Conseil scolaire francophone schools of the province.

The policy also opens the door to the admission of children whose parents are not eligible under the provisions of the Charter, but who meet other criteria, including the ability of the child and the parents to speak French. It would also extend eligibility to some children whose grandparents are francophone.

All admission applications coming from parents who are not eligible under the provisions of Article 23 will be put before an admissions committee composed of five members. Among other tasks, this committee will be responsible for assessing the linguistic and cultural competency of the parents and child, according to predetermined criteria, as well as the family’s desire to integrate the francophone community. Other factors could also be taken into account. The committee’s decision must be unanimous.

This amendment to the admission policy has several aims, one of which is to integrate parents who are not Canadian citizens into the francophone community of British Columbia, on the condition that they contribute to the vitality and the diversity of this community.